Grown Ups 2 beats Pacific Rim in US but trails Despicable Me 2

ADAM Sandler comedy sequel Grown Ups 2 has delivered a much-needed hit for the actor by taking $42.5 million in the US – but the figure wasn’t enough to take the No.1 spot.

That honour went to Universal’s Despicable 2 which remained at No. 1 for a second weekend, grossing $44.8 million for a US total of $229.2 million.

The 3D film, featuring Steve Carell as the main vocal talent, also remained on top internationally, taking $55.7 million for a worldwide total of $472.4 million.

The success of both of these films came at the expense of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim, which looks on course to become the latest summer blockbuster flop despite the best efforts of Warner Bros to put a brave spin on things.

Pacifc Rim opened to a disapppointing $38.3 million, way below the movie’s production budget of at least $190 million. It also struggled internationally, hitting $53 million for a global total of $91.3 million, and failing to capture much attention in a lot of European locations. It did, however, perform well in Asia.

Pointing to how the film rallied against pre-release expectation and an aggressive last-minute marketing effort, Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution, said that the US figure of $38.3m was in line with expectation.

“Two weeks ago, we were looking at an opening of $25 million to $30 million,” he said. “This result is just what we’ve hoped for. There’s nobody that doesn’t like this movie, and it’s Guillermo’s biggest opening to date. Now, our job is broaden the base.”

In the UK, the film took second spot behind Pixar’s Monsters University.

Rounding out the US top five, meanwhile, was Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat, which jumped the $100 million mark in the States, and The Lone Ranger, which took only $11.1 million in its second weekend for a below par US total of $77.1 million.